Steve Dickson, the head of Federal Aviation Administration for the past 2½ years, is stepping down to spend more time with his family.
What You Need To Know
- Steve Dickson, the head of Federal Aviation Administration for the past 2½ years, is stepping down to spend more time with his family
- Dickson, 64, announced his resignation as the agency’s administration Thursday in an open letter after reportedly sending an email to FAA employees the night before
- His resignation will be effective March 31
- Dickson told a small group of reporters last week that he was not being pressured by the Biden administration into resigning, adding, “In fact, they asked me to stay”
Dickson, 64, announced his resignation as the agency’s administration Thursday in an open letter after reportedly sending an email to FAA employees the night before. His resignation will be effective March 31.
“(I)t’s time for me to go back to Atlanta, where my wife, Janice, and my family have been keeping a light on for me,” Dickson, a former pilot and Delta Air Lines executive, wrote. “It started as a porch light, but it’s become a search light, calling me home.”
Then-President Donald Trump appointed Dickson to lead the agency in August 2019, and Dickson is one of the rare Trump holdovers in the Biden campaign.
According to Reuters, Dickson told a small group of reporters last week that he was not being pressured by the Biden administration into resigning, adding, “In fact, they asked me to stay.”
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Dickson’s tenure “has been marked by steadfast commitment to the FAA’s safety mission … and his lifelong dedication to making sure our aviation system is the best and safest in the world.”
Under Dickson the FAA faced two significant challenges. It was tasked with ensuring the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after two flights in 2018 and ‘19 crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killing everyone aboard. Dickson then had to navigate the agency through the COVID-19 pandemic that saw air travel dry up to once-unimaginable levels in 2020.
“I am tremendously proud of the work we’ve accomplished over a very short time,” Dickson wrote. “We put this agency on firm footing to excel and prosper in the 21st century and beyond. We made, and we continue to make, our global aviation system safer from the hard lessons learned from the 737 MAX; we kept the skies open and safe despite tremendous odds when COVID-19 shut down the global transportation network, and we continue to make sure the safety of the aviation industry and the insatiable desire for connectivity can coexist.
“And despite all of the crises, this dedicated workforce shared my vision for modernizing our approach to safety and revitalizing and reinvigorating our workforce.”
It was not immediately clear who will replace Dickson. President Joe Biden will nominate a successor, whom will be vetted by the Senate Commerce Committee.
